WinWinD: Wind energy solutions in Chennai, India

WinWinD is a Finland-based Wind Energy solutions provider and an established organization in wind energy across the globe, with installations in Finland, India, Sweden, Estonia, France, Portugal and Czech Republic. Performing Solutions interviewed Mr. G. Ravi, Assistant VP of WinWinD Power Energy, India, to learn more about its collaboration with Diab.

With a view to cater to the fast growing
Asian markets, WinWinD has established
a fully owned subsidiary with a production
facility at Vengal, near Chennai in India.
This manufacturing facility is designed
and equipped for assembling nacelles and hubs, and production of rotor blades
and customized rotor blade moulds. The
facility is also fully equipped for rigorous
testing of each manufactured part prior to
installation.

Turnkey solutions
WinWinD’s aim is to provide turnkey
solutions from concept to commissioning
across varied wind speeds and diverse
geographies, with guaranteed uptime.
This is accomplished through an advanced
product suite of 1MW and 3MW
wind turbine generators that are known
for their reliability and efficiency at low
wind speeds. This efficiency and reliability results
from constant design improvements
and continuous development, proficient
assembly and manufacturing, as well as
competent operation and maintenance.

High demands
WinWinD’s relationship with Diab in India started with establishment of
WinWinD’s production facility at Vengal.
In first quarter 2008, during the initial
rounds of production planning, Diab’s
team was invited for discussions on core
material supply for manufacturing of rotor
blades and moulds. From supplying the
first custom-made core kit for rotor blades
to, now, supplying core materials in the form of Divinycell H, for mass production,
Diab has been WinWinD’s partner
of choice.

For wind turbine generators to excel
across varied terrains and wind conditions,
it is essential to ensure that each
component complies with uncompromising
quality standards throughout the
guaranteed lifespan. WinWinD’s WWD-
1 employs the sophisticated EU 60 blade
design which necessitates the rotor blades
to be lightweight, and, at the same time, strong and stiff. This combination of being
lightweight and, simultaneously, robust
is attributed to the use of Sandwich
composites.

Sandwich composites are employed
as a norm when it comes to being lightweight
and stiff. It ensures less vibration
and longer life for the rotor blades. Most
importantly, it prevents the blade from
buckling, which is the central reason for
reinforcement using foam core materials.

Diab – partner of choice
“Diab was named the primary supplier for core materials, Divinycell H, based on the fulfillment of stringent quality criteria that were set by WinWinD

in manufacturing rotor blades that were global-market ready. Diab’s skill in delivering customized core kits, and the convenience with which supply and service logistics are executed, are factors that contributed to the company being selected as a supplier for rotor blade core material. The ease of retrieving core material and the flexibility Diab offered in supplying them are two inherent factors that cemented this partnership”.

Says Mr. G. Ravi, who heads
WinWinD Power Energy’s blade production:
“Diab proved to be the only
supplier to fulfill all our objectives, and
their response for any requirement is
very quick.“

“Recently, when WinWinD had
problems in Nacelle cover supply,
Diab readily came forward to supply
Divinycell core materials as per our production
requirements.”

“We called Diab. Within one day, we
had a decision what to do. The next day an
offer was on the table, and on the third day
we went into production,” says G. Ravi.

Partnering for
technology transfer
While work was in progress to refine
and perfect the manufacturing process
at WinWinD’s manufacturing facility in
India, Diab was keeping close tabs with
the WinWinD team even on the production
shop floor, looking for options to
streamline the process and make it more
cost effective.

One solution that came up was the
supply of custom-made core kits for
the Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion
Moulding (VARIM) process.

For this, the Divinycell H material used
in Blade manufacturing needs to be
trimmed to the dimensions of the mould
profile as per the design requirement. In
regular production units, this process
of meeting the size and shape requirements
and preparing the Divinycell H
sheets is done by an internal Material
Preparation Department.

In order to save process time, it was
decided to have customized Core Kits
of Divinycell H, according to the layup
sequence. This option was discussed with
Diab, and the officials were keen to deliver
the same to meet production requirements.
The core kit was made and supplied
by Diab for the initial set of blades.

“Diab showed great flexibility in
turnaround times and supply quantities
while ensuring and adhering to our quality
requirements. They were quick to organize
a custom delivery module to meet
WinWinD’s shop floor requisites. This option
to outsource is both cost-effective and
convenient,” says G. Ravi.

The support rendered to WinWinD by
Diab has qualified the company as not
just the supplier for core material to manufacture
rotor blades but also as a supplier
of core material for the manufacture of
Nacelle covers and rotor blade moulds.

“We at Diab look forward to a longterm
association with WinWinD based
on the competence of both of our teams
and the excellent technology produced by
WinWinD” says Gopish Kumar, National
Sales Manager at Diab India.

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